After Air Force vs. Colorado State was cancelled, Utah State vs. New Mexico is now the only game on the schedule for Thanksgiving Day, and the winless Mountain West squads will be eager to get into the win column with college football's collective gaze upon them. The Mountain West rivals are both 0-4 and they will also be looking to break a 13-13 tie in the all-time head-to-head series. Utah State has already undergone a coaching change after mutually agreeing to part way with Gary Andersen, while Danny Gonzales is looking for a spark in his first season at the helm in Albuquerque.
The game will get underway at 7 p.m. ET from Merlin Olsen Field in Maverick Stadium on Thursday night. The visiting Lobos are currently six-point favorites, with the over-under for total points at 49 in the Utah State vs. New Mexico odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Before making any New Mexico vs. Utah State picks, check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of over $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is also a sizzling 44-23 on all top-rated picks through 12 weeks of the 2020 college football season, returning over $1,200 in profit already. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Utah State vs. New Mexico. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college football odds and trends for New Mexico vs. Utah State:
- New Mexico vs. Utah State spread: New Mexico -6
- New Mexico vs. Utah State over-under: 49 points
- New Mexico vs. Utah State money line: New Mexico -230, Utah State +190
- NM: The Lobos recovered three fumbles against Air Force, the first time since 2018 they had accomplished that
- US: Senior Savon Scarver has six career kickoff returns for a touchdown, which is the second-most in Mountain West history
Why Utah State can cover
The Aggies are getting solid efforts on defense from several players, including sophomore linebacker AJ Vongphachanh, who leads the team in tackles. He has 33 stops, including 19 solo, with a forced fumble and two sacks for 12 yards. His best game was at Nevada on Nov. 5, when he made 17 tackles, including 10 solo, with one sack. For his career, Vongphachanh has 49 tackles, including 25 solo, with two sacks and a forced fumble.
Also powering the defense is senior safety Shaq Bond, who is second on the team with 30 tackles, including 22 solo. He also has three pass breakups and one interception for 11 yards. He had back-to-back double-digit tackling games against San Diego State and Nevada with 12 and 10, respectively. For his career, he has 150 tackles, including 93 solo, with 14 pass breakups, one forced fumble and five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.
Why New Mexico can cover
The Lobos are off to an 0-4 start on the season but they've certainly been the more competitive of the teams playing on Thursday night so far. New Mexico lost by six in Hawaii on Nov. 7 and then lost by seven at a neutral site against Nevada the following week.
Offensively, the Lobos are averaging just under 400 yards per game (399.5) and the defense has forced three turnovers in two of its last three games. Starting quarterback Tevaka Tuioti has missed the past two games with a concussion and hoped to be ready for Thursday night, but he hasn't been cleared as of Thursday morning. That means Trae Hall could get the start and he'll have to do a better job of protecting the football after throwing three interceptions without a touchdown pass already this year.
How to make Utah State vs. New Mexico picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins New Mexico vs. Utah State? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Utah State vs. New Mexico spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $3,600 on its top-rated college football spread picks, and find out.
